


Missing Pieces

by orphan_account



Category: JBJ (Band), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Detective School Q, Detectives, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-03-29 19:39:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13933896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Justice League AU set in the Detective School Q universe.Ong Seongwu is perhaps the brightest of all the detectives-in-training, even in Brand New Detective School's gifted program: Class Q.But what does he do when he finds a case that needs him to have a handle on not his mind, but his heart?





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning: Past allusions to sexual assault (no descriptions) and abuse.  
> Loosely set in the Detective Q universe - did my best but I apologise that it wasn’t possible for me to map characters and situations in the manga/anime exactly to the JL crew.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A strange, scared little boy.  
> A man who’s scared for him.  
> This is how it began.

The boy in front of him couldn’t have been more than eight-years-old. Rhymer was sure of that much.

Thin, face wan, quiet. Merely standing in front of him as though waiting further instruction.

Dressed in what looked like an elementary school uniform that looked decidedly out of place.

Or maybe it didn’t. It was a brothel, after all. Uniform kinks had to be the least of what the walls had seen.

“What do you need me to do, sir?” The boy said in a voice that was lilting and soft.

His small fingers made as if to start unbuttoning his shirt but Rhymer quickly moved to stop him with a quick, “No. I don’t need you to…do anything.”

The boy eyed him warily. His hands fell back to his sides and still he stood, placid. Unmoving.

“I’m here to help you. But first, you need to help me out too.”

Rhymer used what he hoped was his most reassuring voice: “What’s your name? You can call me Rhymer.”

The boy cocked his head to the side. “That can’t be your real name, can it?”

Rhymer smiled. “It’s the name I chose for myself.”

As if satisfied, the boy nodded. “My name’s…Minhyun. I guess you must be telling the truth.”

“Why so?” Rhymer couldn’t help being curious.

“You don’t…you don’t look at me the way all the other men do. Like, they’re hungry and I’m just something to eat.”

Something broke a little inside Rhymer right then. It wasn’t what the boy Minhyun said, it was the way he said it. Matter-of-factly. Too matter-of-factly.

“Minhyun?”

“Yes, sir?” The boy looked him in the eye, still so calm, almost too calm for a boy his age.

“I promise, when I get you out of here, you’ll go somewhere safe. Where no one can make you do stuff you don’t want to, the kind of stuff that will hurt you.”

Not a glimmer of hope shone in the boy’s eyes. Instead, all Rhymer got from him was a semi-whispered “OK.”

And his heart broke a little, again.

“Just follow me, OK?” Rhymer said, being careful not to touch the boy. God knows he’d had enough strange men touching him to last a lifetime.

Whatever happened, Rhymer was going to do his damn best to keep his promise.


	2. Echoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where the past leaves long shadows

“You coming home for dinner tonight, Seongwu?”

Seongwu smiled, “Well, things have been quiet lately so yeah, probably. Unless Rhymer has some new assignment for us.”

His mother sighed. “Seeing as you’ve been home early the last couple of weeks, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

Seongwu knew, as his mother did, that it was only a matter of time before there’d be a new assignment to sort out. Came with the territory if you were a student at Brand New Detective School.

It was an unusual institution - it housed both high school, pre-university and university courses. But its primary aim was to hone the skills of its specially selected candidates in the art of deductive reasoning.

Detectives who could choose to go private, join corporate organisations, the military or the government. 

In return for an education as well as varied and intriguing career prospects, it also meant having to either play support roles or actually become involved in various missions. 

It had been quiet for awhile, after Brand New had managed to cripple Pluto, the criminal crime ring that had been the school’s nemesis.

He was proud knowing that his class, Class Q, had a lot to do with it. They’d earned these past few weeks of rest - of being able to relax, act like ordinary kids for once, even visit their graduating seniors who’d setup their own I.O.I Detective Agency - an all-woman detective agency was something unheard of, but he was sure they could pull it off. One of the girls of class Q had even graduated early just so she could join them.

He’d miss Kim ‘God’ Sejeong, smart, gorgeous and class mom. Now she was gone, Class Q would be a dick-fest. But she’d loved the idea of I.O.I so much she felt she had to join up.

Even God probably got sick of being in an all-boys club.

Not that Class Q had started out being a testosterone fest. They lost a few - boys and girls - in some dangerous assignments. Some had transferred to other classes or schools and unintentionally, Class Q had been whittled down to just six people.

At least he still had his best friend: Hwang Minhyun, resident unwilling heartthrob and, conveniently, the school head’s adopted son. Seongwu wondered sometimes if he’d been kicked out long ago if he didn’t just happen to be buddies with Minhyun.

“For someone so smart, you can be colossally stupid,” vice-principal BoA had said to Seongwu once. That was the time when he’d unwittingly found himself trapped in a tank in the City Aquarium while chasing the thieves who’d hauled off the star attraction - a rare albino octopus.

Still, at least he was Ms.Cheetah’s favourite - she deigned him the best at disguises and subterfuge in Class Q. Unlike Hyunbin, the resident idiot savant. Hyunbin had no idea what he was doing most of the time, going entirely by instinct but no amount of instruction could help extra-tall and extra-awkward Hyunbin blend in easily on a surveillance mission. He usually ended up manning comms.

“I’ll see if I can get Minhyun to come over for dinner tonight too,” he told his mother as he headed to the door.

“That’d be nice. It’d be good to see him.”

Seongwu scoffed. “Good? I swear you fuss over him so much people would think he was your son, not me.”

“You know I love you,” his mother laughed in reply.

“Love you too, Ma.”

As if the universe had relayed a message, Seongwu’s phone buzzed as he left the apartment.

It was Minhyun, asking if he was already on the way. Quickly texting a reply, Seongwu almost knocked into the person waiting for him outside his apartment block.

“Hey, doofus!” The booming voice of the very loud and far too chipper Kang Daniel announced his presence.

“Yah, numbnut!” Besides Minhyun, Daniel was also a constant presence in his life. He was also a big fan of Seongwu’s mother’s cooking even though there was that one time he fell asleep in a bowl of mashed potatoes.

Dan was a martial arts prodigy, quick on his feet with a mind to match but was prone to narcoleptic episodes. The boy could sleep anywhere, anytime, which was both a source of worry and hilarity for the people who knew him.

“You ate already?” Seongwu guessed, from Daniel’s messy hair and slightly crumpled shirt, that he probably hadn’t.

“I woke up late, so…” Seongwu handed over a breakfast roll.

“Mom had me pack extra, just in case.”

“Your mom is the best!” Daniel managed to say in-between mouthfuls of bread, ham and cheese.

Walking with his best friend to school – how peaceful, how mundane. Still it was something to savour, Seongwu thought.

When they got to the school gates, he’d expected to see Minhyun waiting as was his wont.

Instead it was Jaehwan, looking about as frazzled as Daniel, hair a bit unkempt. Class Q’s designated computer whiz was known for staying up way too late – either mucking about on the Internet or indulging his side-passion of computing music.

“If things don’t work out, maybe I’ll be an idol,” Jaehwan would joke, making cutesy poses or playfully tossing his hair. The biggest joke was that Jaehwan actually did have an amazing voice...not that the rest of Class Q would admit it – he had enough of an ego as it was.

A typical Jaehwan self-introduction would go something like this: “Hi I’m Jaehwan, main detective, main weapons expert, main computer whiz and main ladies’ man.”

Now he just looked mainly asleep. “Hey guys,” he muttered, eyes heavy-lidded.

“Hey, yourself. Seen Minhyun?”

“Your boyfriend? Saw him head over to Rhymer’s office.”

“Har-har.” Besides Daniel, Minhyun was the one Seongwu spent most of his time with to the point Jaehwan called them the Devastatingly Unfairly Manly Boyfriends or DUMB for short.

Minhyun on the other hand was always making fun of Seongwu for his huge crush on Sejeong.

Seongwu was happy to not have romantic distractions at this important formative time of his life, thanks very much.

He didn’t see Minhyun till 20 minutes into the first period, though.

Minhyun had always been on the pale side but this time he looked paler than usual, lips pursed, his eyes cold and distant.

It was the expression in Minhyun’s eyes that unnerved Seongwu a little; he’d never seen Minhyun as withdrawn or moody. Most days he’d complain about just how sunny Minhyun was in the mornings – “It should be illegal for someone to be this hype this early in the morning,” he’d said once and Minhyun’s only response was to smile beatifically.

Rhymer had come with him. Even if he was Minhyun’s adoptive dad, he’d never walked him to class before. Something Seongwu was just making a mental note of when Rhymer turned to him.

“Seongwu, in my office please.”

“Yes, Rhymer sir.”

Rhymer’s office was a bit of a mess, something chronically-cleaning-obsessed Minhyun would often cluck about but the only response he’d get from his father was a laugh, a ruffling of his hair and an insistence that he had a ‘system’.

As Seongwu sat in the chair, he saw Rhymer seemed to have added to the rather large display of family photos on his shelf.

Rhymer had a soft spot for his kids – he’d adopted five boys, including Minhyun. Minhyun was the oldest and while Seongwu knew the other boys (Daehwi, Woojin, Youngmin and Donghyun) were from the same orphanage, Minhyun had never said how he’d come into Rhymer’s care.

“He’s my dad, that’s all there is to know,” Minhyun had said, shrugging.

There was a picture Seongwu had never seen before now - there’d been solo photos of each of the boys but this one had Rhymer and Minhyun together. It must have been from when Rhymer had first taken the boy in, surmising how distant they looked in the photo.

The Minhyun Seongwu knew was clingy and prone to enveloping his close male friends with hugs, as well as bestowing random kisses — but was painfully awkward around girls. Seeing Minhyun with an arm around one of his brothers or being openly affectionate with his father outside of school was something Seongwu was used to.

He wasn’t used to how cold and remote this Minhyun in the photo was. They were both sitting in chairs, next to each other, which was slightly odd. Seongwu noted how Rhymer kept his hands carefully folded in his lap, his body leaning towards Minhyun and yet a safe distance apart, not touching him. As though he was making an effort not to touch him - but not out of distaste.

Minhyun’s seated posture, stiff and straight, was something Seongwu recognised but in the photo the younger Minhyun looked distant, spaced out and gaunt. Cheeks hollow, dark shadows under his eyes. 

“Noticed the photo have you? I figured you would. Minhyun’s one of the main reasons I opened the school. Even back then, I knew he was special. So smart. So articulate and that memory, amazing. I knew an ordinary school wouldn’t be able to fully support his talents.”

Seongwu patiently listened. Rhymer loved talking about his sons though Minhyun would scoff at times, saying that of course Rhymer would say his kids were special.

”It was also a way to keep an eye on him without, well, stifling him too much. Setting up the school, then running the school...was a good reason to have him near me.”

Yet at the same time, Seongwu knew, Rhymer’s other four sons were at a performing arts school not too far away.

”I briefed Jonghyun already and he will brief the other members about this mission. But I needed to speak to you personally, because you have a role that you need to play - that you can’t tell the others, or even Minhyun about.”

This wasn’t standard procedure. 

Seongwu felt cold all over. It wasn’t like Rhymer to issue special instructions or silo members - everyone was always in on the plan, and if there was a reason to keep some people knowledgeable about somethings and not others, it would be explained just why beforehand. 

“This is a personal favour to me, Seongwu. Whatever it takes, I need you to protect Minhyun.”


	3. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When memories are painful, in every way

“Shouldn’t that be Jonghyun’s thing?” Seongwu knew that in a pinch, he was good at hand-to-hand combat but team leader Jonghyun was the weapons expert.

Playing bodyguard was not something Seongwu thought that he’d be suited for. Daniel, maybe. But him?

”Jonghyun and Minhyun are both going to go undercover for this, so you’re going to be team leader. Daniel isn’t as close to Minhyun as you are and, well, you’re the better actor.”

”In other words, I can lie better.”

Rhymer sighed. “I might seem like I’m going off-tangent, but Minhyun and the mission are closely related. Before I founded this school I was a bit of a mercenary - spy, detective, whatever was interesting and paid the bills. I encountered an organisation that would make Pluto look like a fake handbag operation.”

Seongwu swallowed. He’d lost friends to Pluto. 

”EMNET - that’s what they called themselves. EMNET wasn’t just evil. They were beyond evil - a network that specialised in suffering and pain. Human trafficking was their core business - I helped shut down one of their operations here but it was just one of many rackets. They’d gone quiet over the past decades, moving their operations elsewhere.”

”Sir, how do you know they’re back? And why do you think Minhyun needs extra care? I mean, it’s all about us all looking after each other’s backs in Class Q right?”

“Because, Seongwu, I rescued Minhyun from EMNET.”

In the silence that followed the cogs in Seongwu’s mind turned over and over, as he tried to digest the information and the possible implications.

”You’ll have to get the full story about that from Minhyun, I’m afraid. It’s not my place to share something that personal. As to the mission, Jonghyun will be posing as a dock worker at the entry point we think people are being smuggled via containers. Minhyun will be embedded as a junior clerk at one of the government departments we’re pretty sure has been compromised.”

Seongwu nodded. It seemed the operation had been already in motion long before this; likely pulling Class Q in was just the next phase of it. 

“It’ll be a burden on you, I know. Having to coordinate not just the mission but shadow Minhyun. Jonghyun can’t meet up with Minhyun without stirring up suspicion and you keeping tabs on Minhyun at least, it can just seem as routine as meeting up with friends. Your youth and general anonymity will prove good cover. As always, remember that outside the school Brand New is just a private academy for gifted students, nothing more. For this mission, you’re posing as a stay-at-home prodigy programmer. It’ll explain your youth and flexible schedule.”

”Jaehwan would have a field day with this.”

”Well we both know he’s not the best bet for undercover missions and neither is Hyunbin. They’ll be camping out at Brand New until further notice.”

”What about Daniel, sir?”

”He’ll be your backup, but keep things on a need-to-know basis. You’ll understand after you talk to Minhyun.”

Seongwu knew that Jonghyun was probably briefing the rest of the team while he was in Rhymer’s office. Right now, though, he knew he had to talk to Minhyun. Once the other boy went undercover they wouldn’t have as much freedom or time.

The object of his concern was conveniently seated outside Rhymer’s office.

Waiting.

"You talked to Rhymer?" Seongwu nodded.

"Let's go somewhere. New East Cafe?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Dongho should be there at this time of day. He owes me a cup of coffee. Or ten."

Minhyun laughed, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

Dongho had been there, which meant Seongwu's flat white and Minhyun's grapefruit smoothie were on the house. Seongwu had helped him out with trouble he'd been having with online harassers - a favour he had no problem doing as Dongho was one of Minhyun's few friends outside the Academy. Any friend of Minhyun's was a friend of his.

"So." Seongwu wasn't sure what they were supposed to be talking about.

"So." Minhyun's reply wasn't exactly helping.

The both of them sat there awhile, in silence, sipping on their drinks.

"I guess it's time I told you how I ended up with Rhymer. No one else really knows about it except, well, Dongho. You have to understand...he was my first friend when I moved here. After, well, Rhymer found me."

Seongwu nodded. He'd heard Dongho say they met as kids during taekwondo classes but that was about it.

"Rhymer found me in an operation. EMNET had a lot going on at the time - human smuggling, kidnapping, extortion and...prostitution. They'd been running a child prostitution ring that catered especially to the rich and connected."  
  
"I was one of those kids."

Seongwu could feel his stomach clenching. Minhyun's memory...did this mean he still remembered everything?

"The funny thing is...my subconscious seems to have blocked most of my memories before the time Rhymer saved me. I'm not sure if I was taken young, if I ever had family. I'm not even sure if I can remember, or if I'm too scared to try. Rhymer tried taking me to a therapist at the start but I couldn't tell her much of anything because...I couldn't remember. As far as I'm concerned, my life only truly started when Rhymer took me in. When he became my dad."

It hurt to see Minhyun, seeing his hands shake, hearing his voice tremble. But Seongwu willed himself to stay quiet, to let him talk.

"He saved me, in every way. He could have just left me in an orphanage but he took me in. You know he gave up being a freelancer just to look after me? Built up this school so he could have a career and still keep an eye on me? I didn't deserve it but.."  
  
"Minhyun..."

"...I'm so grateful. But now EMNET is back and he's so scared. He's not scared of them. Dad's scared...for me. He probably asked you to keep an eye out for me, right?"  
Seongwu choked on his coffee.

"You think I don't know my dad? I can't even be mad, though. Try as he might to 'not show favouritism' and all that, he still has the softest spot for his kids. Don't tell my brothers but I'm pretty sure dad's hacked into their school's CCTV just to keep tabs on them."

"Thanks for telling me, Min. I know...it can't be easy. I get now why Rhymer's so on edge about this. It was weird, you know, when he's usually pretty damn chill about even some of our scarier cases. But it's personal now. For him. And you."

Minhyun nodded.

"Yeah, so you're going to have to take point on this since Jonghyun and I will both be undercover. Dad would have stuck me at home base if he could have gotten away with it but there was no one else who could take my assignment."

"If you ever need me, you know how to reach me, yeah? We'll set something up so we can meet up when we need to. Check in."

So they whiled the rest of the afternoon away, quietly talking about their mission parameters, going over communication codes. To the rest of the world, it looked as though it was just two young, perhaps college-kid-age youngsters hanging out.

If only things were as simple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Photographic memory doesn't actually exist but because it does in the Detective Q universe, I'm just going with it.  
> Also sad, and scary fact: South Koreans drive the bulk of child prostitution demand in SE Asia. Which is truly sad and disturbing.  
> http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2013/01/116_129743.html


	4. Paths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Class Q is watching, waiting but for what?

For the first week or so, things had been quiet enough. Jonghyun had managed to acquit himself well playing his role as an out-of-town, young and naive dock worker.

It was easy to like Jonghyun - that was his 'superpower' of sorts. He wasn't the type who stood out. Simple, guileless, quiet. Easy to like, but easy enough to forget in a crowd. Perfect for a mission that required him to blend in with the workers and keep an eye on things.

He'd been having his dinner at a roadside stall when Seongwu decided to join him. "Hey, you holding up OK?"

Jonghyun nodded. "Same old, same old so far. Tiring work but the crew's decent people. Not been having problems so far."

"How's Minhyun doing?" Seongwu filled him in - he'd also been fairly successful at embedding himself into the department. Nobody paid Minhyun too much mind thanks to his lowly status as an intern.

"Rhymer's intel says that some sort of shipment is happening next week. We're not sure of the exact contents but it's important to EMNET."

Jonghyun hummed. "I've looked at the schedules for the upcoming weeks and there hasn't been anything out of the ordinary."

"No cargo containers to look out for? No special night arrivals?"

"There just doesn't seem to be anything of note to be honest. I get the feeling that whatever EMNet is doing, I really don't think they're going by sea channels. The docks are a dead end."

Seongwu knew that he'd have to get in touch with Rhymer first - then discuss what to do next. "Until we're absolutely certain I think you should just stick to the plan. Unless you have other ideas?"  
  
Jonghyun shook his head. "Feels like I'm wasting time to be honest. But I'll stay put and see if I can find anything useful."

"When's the next time you're going to be seeing Min?" "Soon I...well, speak of the devil."

Minhyun's codename 'BigHead' was flashing on his screen.  
  
"Hey Min we were just..." "Seongwu, you have to come get me."

"Min, what..." "I don't have time to explain," Minhyun sounded agitated, on edge. He sounded, almost, to Seongwu as though he was on the verge of tears.

"Come get me, please."

"I'll be there soon."

"Shit, Jonghyun. We're going to have to do an extraction."

"What's wrong? What happened to Minhyun?"

"He didn't say, just to come get him quickly. Get the word to Rhymer, have the rest of Class Q on standby."

"Roger that. You know I'm coming with, right?"

"Yeah. You got any toys for us to play with?"

Jonghyun smiled. "You know I do."

Seongwu had been lucky enough to score what the school called the 'company car' or the Panther. It was a plain black sedan, with no identifying marks. Nondescript but perfect for jobs. What wasn't immediately apparent was the car's bulletproof glass, with the interior reinforced with layers of kevlar and ballistic nylon on top of metal. It was built like a tank but with composite materials that weighed much less than steel.

It also had a beast of an engine; otherwise it wouldn't be able to cope with the extra weight of all the armour. Rhymer had made defensive driving part of the curriculum and made sure they all got some experience driving the Panther. Hyunbin however was only allowed to drive it under extreme duress - he couldn't manage a normal spin around the block without hitting something,

Somehow, if they were in a car chase or perhaps, trying to get as far away from a bomb as possible, he would become the best driver they would ever see.

"He can do anything!...as long as you don't let him actually think about what he's doing," Jonghyun said once.

Speaking of Hyunbin, he was now on their earpiece. "Hey, guys?" Besides being the resident idiot savant, he was also known for taking his sleep seriously. He sounded sleepy and a little out of sorts.

"Is Sleeping Beauty up already?"

"Very funny, Seongwu. What's the situation right now?"

"We're almost there. Got the GPS fix on him yet?"  
  
"Yeah, he's at the department building all right and he looks like he's somewhere on the 13th floor. Jaehwan's hacking into the surveillance systems to see if he can get a better read on things."   
  
“Yoyoyo Jaehwan everyone’s main dude is on, and we have cameras!”

“Great job, Jae. Spotted Min yet?”

“Already on it…haven’t spotted him yet though. But I’ll keep monitoring.”

Hyunbin cleared his throat. “Guys? The GPS tracker is moving. It looks like Minhyun’s changing position.”

This was worrying. It wasn’t like Minhyun to break protocol and change position without informing the rest of the team.

“Is he exiting the building?”

“No. It looks like he’s taking the elevator…he’s going to the roof!”

Shit. “Did you detect any other heat signals? Other people?”

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone besides the security personnel on the ground floor.”

Jonghyun chimed in. “Speaking of that, how do we get past them into the building?”

“There’s a side entrance I can unlock for you remotely. I’ll send you the location. Never fear, Jae’s here.”

What would they find when they got there? Had Minhyun been compromised? Had EMNET operatives managed to infiltrate the building? Too many questions, not enough clues. 

There was nothing else to do but get there and hope that nothing would happen to Minhyun before they managed it.


	5. Voices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s a break in the case, but it comes with a price

  
They’d made it to the rooftop, encountering no resistance on the way. Jaehwan was monitoring the CCTV feeds while Hyunbin kept track of Minhyun’s movements.  
  
Jonghyun and Seongwu were armed, ready in case they met attackers. Yet there seemed to be no signs of any kind of struggle.   
  
It was quiet, the silence only broken by them opening the door to the rooftop entrance.  
  
Minhyun was there, alone, standing right on the rooftop parapet.  
  
“Minhyun?”   
  
Seongwu looked around, trying to see if there was anyone hiding in the shadows. But it really was just Minghyun standing there right at the edge. It scared him.  
  
The way Minhyun looked back at him, wasn’t the way Seongwu was used to. It wasn’t the clear, direct stare that unnerved him when they first met. Instead, it was glassy, unfocused.  
  
Seongwu moved forward cautiously, not wanting to startle Minhyun.   
  
“What happened? Are you OK?”  
  
“I saw him, Seongwu. The man who’d…from my past…he’d come to see the head of the department.”  
  
“Who..” Jonghyun was interrupted by Seongwu shaking his head at him.  
  
“Did he see you, Minhyun? He knew who you were?” It was something that needed asking as Seongwu cautiously kept moving, slowly towards Minhyun.  
  
“I…don’t think so? He didn’t know me but I…I knew him. And I remembered.”  
  
“I remembered everything, Seongwu.”  
  
Seongwu saw Minhyun’s body start swaying, wavering dangerously close to the edge and before he realised it, he was running, running as fast as he could to Minhyun.  
  
     It was as if nothing else existed -nothing he could think of, nothing more that he wanted to do than to get to him. Every nerve in his body, every voice in his head screaming Minhyun’s name.  
  
He’d gotten there, just in time. Right before Minhyun would have fallen over the edge and his arms were tight around Minhyun’s waist as he pulled him off the parapet, dragging him until both of them were on the ground.  
  
“I’ve got you, Min,” Seongwu said, hugging him close.   
  
And that was when the tears came, Minhyun huddling himself into the smallest ball as he wept, despite Seongwu’s embrace.  
  
Seongwu had never seen Minhyun like this - crying so hard, his body was near-convulsing as he sobbed. There was nothing he could bring himself to say, no words that seemed right. He just held on tight, hoping that his embrace would tell Minhyun everything he hoped Minhyun would know by now.  
  
 _I’m here._  
  
 _I’m not leaving._  
  
 _I won’t let you go._   
  
He’d had Minhyun’s back for the longest time - through school, through assignments, through thick and thin. Seongwu knew what to do to protect Minhyun from armed assailants, knew antidotes for common poisons, the proper way to tie tourniquets and apply dressings.  
  
But how, Seongwu, wondered, was he going to save Minhyun from the ghosts of his past? Ghosts that still seemed to have the power to hurt him.  
  
“Guys?” Jonghyun said, after a little time had passed. “What’s the plan?”  
  
Seongwu looked at Minhyun, whose face was still marked by the trail of barely dried tears. “Where do you want to go now, Minhyun?”  
  
“Just take me home. Just…let Rhymer, dad, know I’ll be home.”  
  
“Rhymer’s already here, Minhyun,” Jonghyun said, gently. “He’s just waiting for you now.”  
  
“We’ll get you home, Min.” Gently, Seongwu helped Minhyun to his feet, holding on to him even as they made it to where Rhymer was waiting for them.  
  
Jonghyun had relayed what Minhyun had said to Rhymer, even if he didn’t know the full context.   
  
“Sir,” Seongwu said. “How do we proceed now?”  
  
“We’ll get Minhyun home, see how he does. Once he can…properly talk, we’ll see if his memories will help us with EMNet. Right now, I’m just worried about my boy. Unprofessional as it might sound.”  
  
“Far be it for me to judge you for it, sir.”  
  
Rhymer’s smile was sad. “Thank you for making sure he’s safe.”  
  
“Just doing my job, sir.”  
  
Rhymer laughed. “We both know it’s more than that, son.”   
  
His words were on Seongwu’s mind the rest of the night.  
  
  



	6. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Minhyun knows is dangerous in more ways than one

Seongwu didn't see Minhyun for days after the extraction. Jonghyun had been recalled from his dock cover and now Class Q was going through the motions of acting like a regular class. Albeit one full of misfits.

The ‘special shipment’, it turned out, wasn’t actually a shipment. EMNet it seemed was finding it lucrative to supply various companies with illegal workers - creating syndicates in third world countries that promised lucrative salaries but in reality, trapped people into indentured labour and debt.

“It’s pretty sad,” Hyunbin remarked. “Things must be really bad in their home countries that people would fall for such a scam.”

“EMnet’s got their syndicates everywhere - whenever a country closes one down, EMnet just starts a new one. It just never ends, you know, like those idol variety shows,” Jaehwan said, as he scanned through a map they’d drawn up that showed known EMNet operations.

“Well, that just means…we have to cut off the head,” Jonghyun said.

Seongwu knew it wouldn’t be that easy -there’d be a lot of heads to cut off but Minyun might be the sword that made the difference.

Even with Jonghyun back, Seongwu was still the leader of Class Q’s operation and he knew that the next step was getting what they needed from  Minhyun - and it couldn’t wait too much longer.

Rhymer had said he would let Seongwu know when Minhyun could take visitors. Minhyun’s phone had been turned off and Seongwu had no other way of reaching him.

Then he got the text.

_You can come see Minhyun now. But only you._

Better than nothing.

When he got to Rhymer’s house, he made his way straight to Minhyun’s room. It wasn’t like hadn’t visited or stayed over before. He didn’t even need a key - Seongwu knew the passkey and his biometrics had been programmed into security as well.

Rhymer didn’t seem to be around but Seongwu figured that he was probably somewhere, monitoring from afar. His arrival had probably been telegraphed to Rhymer’s phone.

He’d knocked before entering - not something he was used to. It was a fun in-joke they had, the two of them. Whenever they visited, they made it a habit to barge into each other’s rooms without warning to see who could catch the other in the more embarrassing situation. So far Minhyun was winning as far as those stakes were.

Seongwu barely heard Minhyun’s voice giving him assent to enter.

The sight of a pale Minhyun, eyes laden with bags, cheeks sunken, made Seongwu’s heart feel as heavy as lead.

“Hey.” Minhyun was sitting up, reclining against two pillows. A book was on top of the covers, next to him. Likely he’d been reading when he heard Seongwu knock.

“Hey, Min.” He made his way to the bed, seating himself next to Minhyun.

“Was it your idea to turn your phone off? I was really worried. You could have you know, just texted hey I’m OK just gotta be alone for a bit.” Seongwu tried to make his tone light, teasing. Even if he meant every word.

“I’m sorry. I just…couldn’t deal with anything or anyone. If it makes you feel happy I didn’t talk to Dad either when I got back, didn’t say a word to him at all until this morning.”

Seongwu sighed.

“Well, I’m glad you’ve been talking at least to someone. Have you eaten? You been sleeping OK? Because, man you look like shit.”

Minhyun’s laugh was mirthless.

“It’s been hard, Seongwu. When I try to sleep, the memories keep flooding back. I don’t know how I managed to keep all of that back but I guess that my subconscious works a lot like my dad - always trying to protect me.”

“Do you need to talk to someone…who’s not me? Don’t get me wrong, Min. If you need me I’ll be here, you need me to listen, I will. But what happened on the roof that day - I was thinking you’d need someone more professional.”

“Yeah.” Minhyun said. “I’m seeing a therapist tomorrow. Don’t worry about that.”

“You need anything? Coffee, chocolate, cocaine…”

“Dumbass.” Minhyun’s smile was a little lopsided but seeing it at least made it a win in Seongwu’s books.

“The good thing about it was that I remembered that I had a family. A sister.”

“That’s great, Min—”

“EMNet killed them. They didn’t kill me. Would have been better, maybe, if they did.”

Seongwu grabbed Minhyun’s hand. “Don’t say that, Min. Please.”

“I thought I was OK all this time, Seongwu. Despite everything. But my memory, my damn memory, hid the fact that I’ve been broken all this time.”

Minhyun leaned closer to Seongwu, close enough for the latter to see the unshed tears in his eyes.

“I don’t know if anyone can fix me,” he whispered. Right before he placed his lips on Seongwu’s.  
   
  
  
  
  
  



	7. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Seongwu doesn't want to be a casualty

Seongwu was startled, to say the least.

Minhyun kissing him was never something he'd imagined, nor hoped for.

Before he could react, Minhyun had pulled away quickly, his ears burning a dark red.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"Min, it's..."

"Leave, Seongwu. Please. Just go."

The finality in Minhyun's tone told Seongwu there would be no point trying to argue.

He'd known deep-down that Minhyun was attracted to him. But as to his own feelings...those were complicated.

Sejeong had once told him, as far as feelings went, he needed to work on communicating them better - at least to himself.

They'd just wrapped up a pretty crazy case - one that seemed like it came out of a James Bond movie. A car chase, gunshots, the both of them jumping off a cliff into a really cold, rushing river. And it'd ended with them on a river bank, a little soggy but exhilarated after quite possibly saving the world. Or at least, Japan.

She'd been looking at him. He'd been looking at her. Time had seemed to slow down and in that moment, the hero would have given the heroine a kiss. Instead all he did was smile and give her an awkward one-handed hug.

Sejeong's response? Loudly laughing, at him, and the situation. How could you not love her?

"Oh, Seongwu," She'd said to him a little later. "All this time, I suspected that you had feelings for someone and I thought, maybe it was me. But to be frank I think you may _think_ I'm attractive but I suspect your feelings are somewhere else. Let me know when you find them, OK?"

He decided that he'd wait, after Minhyun's therapy session and properly talk out whatever had happened.

***

It felt kinda wrong, to be staking out Minhyun's house but hey, it wasn't the weirdest thing. His plan was to trail Minhyun on the motorbike he'd managed to borrow, then show up in the waiting room.

He'd even brought an extra helmet so he could take Minhyun home on the bike. If he could persuade him to get on it in the first place, of course.

There hadn't seemed to be anything wrong at first - Rhymer had a hired car service he'd use to ferry his kids to school or other appointments when he couldn't.

It wasn't usual that those cars would have windows so heavily tinted though.

Seongwu tried texting Minhyun but while the messages were delivered, he got no answers and no indication if said messages were being read.

Maybe he was overreacting but perhaps it was time to call Class Q, or as Minhyun called them in a nerdy fit, the 'Justice League'.

He'd sent the quick alert from his watch that was the signal for everyone to get on comms ASAP.

"Seongwu? What's up?" Jonghyun was, as always, the quickest to respond.

"Guys, I think Minhyun's been kidnapped. Am in pursuit of a black van, heading down the North West highway."

He heard Jaehwan yelp. "What? Shit. I'll get on the trackers...Minhyun's is on, at least he had the sense to have it activated. And I'm keeping track of you too, Seongwu...hey, wow, you're going pretty fast. Are you...on a bike?"

"Yeah, Jaeh. Funny story, maybe I'll tell you sometime. Is anyone close enough to intercept? Could we get the police mobilised fast enough?"  
  
Then Seongwu heard a low laugh on the comms. It was Daniel. "Well, you're in luck, Seongwu. Guess who's got the sedan today and is just 400m from your position."

"Hyun...Hyunbin?" "Yep."

Well, at least they had a chance now. Jonghyun was the best at remotely handling Hyunbin - being able to make the latter focus just on his voice, allowing Hyunbin's scary driving instincts to kick in.

Now it was just a matter of waiting. Any minute now, any minute...

..and the black sedan had just cut across three lanes, jumping over two dividers (the repair bills were gonna be epic) and Seongwu was pretty sure people across 1km away could hear the screech of the car's tyres.

Just in time to block the van holding Minhyun.

What happened after that was a furious blur - the van stopping midway, unable to pass through the traffic maelstrom Hyunbin had created, with police cars arriving at the scene as well.

They'd apprehended the driver and one handler, while Minhyun had fortunately survived the kidnapping unscathed.

Holding out a motorcycle helmet, Seongwu said, "Well, it's either me or Hyunbin."

Minhyun, sighing, took the helmet.

***

After making a police statement and reporting in with Rhymer (who had managed not to have a heart attack but he came close), Seongwu decided unilaterally that Minhyun was going to stay over with him. His mother, predictably, was thrilled.

They'd settled down in Seongwu's room, after a fairly noisy dinner as the rest of the Justice League had invited themselves over along with pizzas, fried chicken and beer. It was just the two of them now and Seongwu knew he might as well get talking.

"Hey, Min?"

"Yeah?" Minhyun still looked tired, but at least the hauntedness that had scared Seongwu seemed to be gone. As Seongwu looked at him, he thought of how he hadn't realised how much he'd remembered every detail of his face - the curve of his cheekbones, the slight crook in his bridge, the funny ends of Minhyun's eyebrows that were so sparse he pencilled them in religiously.

"Remember when you told me that you're broken? I just hated hearing that. So much. No one needs to fix you, I don't think anyone can. I sure can't. I may not know how to fix you, Min — but I do know this; that I can't lose you. Because I love you, you stupid bigheaded je-"

This time, when Minhyun's lips met his, Seongwu knew to kiss back.

He wasn't sure what was going to happen tomorrow - how many people they'd be able to bring down with the unlocked memories in Minhyun's head, what other dangerous things they'd be doing to deal with EMNet.

But he knew this at least - that he had Minhyun. And Minhyun had him. That, for the moment, was enough.

 

 

 


End file.
